KMC approves proposal to renew lease of land to Jadavpur Univ
Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has approved the decision to renew the lease of land that it gave to Jadavpur University (JU) 99 years back but on the condition that the institution clears the outstanding lease rent and also install a tablet in some prominent part in the university building declaring that the lands were donated by the civic body.
It is learnt that in 1921, about 100 bighas of KMC land at Jadavpur was leased out to the National Council of Education (now, Jadavpur University) for 99 years for the College of Engineering & Technology and other institutions under the council.
In 1930, another 92 bighas of KMC land was leased out for 91 years, and in 1944 allowed 20 bighas of land to be transferred to the Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute. Presently, a total of 172 bighas of KMC land is said to be in possession with JU.
The lease period is said to have expired in September 2020 and the amount of lease rent was Rs 410 per month. However, according to KMC, after thorough searching of documents, there is no information as to whether the lease amount was paid or outstanding. Neither could the representatives of the university provide any document regarding payment of lease, KMC sources said. The University was able to submit a copy of the no objection certificate regarding property tax valid up to December 31, 2021.
The Registrar of JU though had requested for renewal of the lease, according to KMC there was no mention of the provision of renewal in the earlier deed. An official said that after much discussion, the civic body has decided to renew the lease since “Jadavpur University is a centre of excellence not only of our state but also of our country.”
The decision of renewal of lease with effect from October, 2021 was approved but primarily on two conditions. Firstly, the earlier lease rent for 99 years needs to be realized with or without interest, subject to the concurrence of the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department. The total pending amount without interest will be Rs 5 lakh, it was learnt.
Secondly, in case of the fresh lease, considering the current market value, it was decided that the lease premium will be 40 per cent (as an engineering institute) and annual rent will be 0.3 per cent of the market value. The entire proposal was learnt to have been cleared by the civic body in its recent monthly meeting.
